Abstract
This chapter examines the role of indigenous language media and how it has impacted safe motherhood practices in Lagos State. The objectives are to know how the media using indigenous languages have been able to reach more women and inform them on best practices on safe motherhood practices and whether professional health providers communicate in indigenous language to women during ante natal sessions. A questionnaire was administered on pregnant women and nursing mothers at a public general hospital in the state while nurses were interviewed on the use of indigenous language. The research was also carried out in three indigenous radio stations in Lagos. The study found that for Nigeria in general, and Lagos State in particular, to reduce maternal mortality rate and advance in safe motherhood practices, involvement of indigenous language media is imperative in giving women necessary information. The majority of the respondents answered that they would prefer health workers to speak in the local language.
TopBackground
Safe motherhood reduces maternal and child mortality and morbidity. It includes initiatives and service delivery that provide quality healthcare for women in order to attain ideal health for the mother, fetus and infant during pregnancy. Overview of the Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 3, shows that significant reductions in maternal mortality are possible, and they are taking place. The global maternal mortality ratio has reduced from 342 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 211 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017. In many countries, maternal deaths have fallen as women have gained access to family planning and skilled birth attendance with backup emergency obstetric care. Some countries have halved their maternal deaths in the space of a decade (UNFPA, 2019).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Health Provider: A person that provides a health care service.
General Hospital: A government secondary public health facility.
Indigenous language: language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous people of the same cultural value and belief.
Health Communication: The process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health.
Safe Motherhood: Ensuring that all women receive the care they need to be safe and healthy throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
Nursing Mother: A mother who is breastfeeding her baby.
Radio: The transmission and reception of electromagnet waves of radio frequency, especially those carrying sound messages.
Indigenous Media: Forms of media expression conceptualized, produced and circulated by indigenous peoples around the globe as vehicles for communication.
Yoruba: The language of the Yoruba, African people of south-western Nigeria and Benin.
Maternal Mortality: Death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.